Insights into Excel Insights

I can’t take credit for this idea. Fellow MVP Reza Rad popped the idea into my head, but then like a post-apocalyptic zombie, I started heading for the Promised Land. Reza contacted the Data Platform and Excel MVPs (I don’t care what Microsoft classifies us as – I am an Excel MVP.  Ask me about other Office Products at your peril: One Note is a tedious musical tune, isn’t it?) about putting together a compendium / anthology on Power BI Tips. I volunteered for that, but then I thought: “what about Excel as well?”

I then contacted the Excel MVP network and said, we can do this too!

And that’s what we did.

24 MVPs from around the world (including six from the local region!) became embroiled:

Jon Acampora, Liam Bastick, Tony de Jonker, Oz du Soleil, Leila Gharani, Mike Girvin, Roger Govier, Mathieu Guindon, Ingeborg Hawighorst, Tim Heng, Wyn Hopkins, Ian Huitson, Bill Jelen, Gašper Kamenšek, Frédéric le Guen, John MacDougall, Dave Paradi, Jon Peltier, Jan Karel Pieterse, Ken Puls, Hervé Thiriez, Mynda Treacy, Henk Vlootman and Charles Williams.

Now, the more observant amongst you will realise the book cover lies. There aren’t 24 chapters (some only assisted with editing) and not everyone was an Excel MVP. But like VLOOKUP, never let the facts get in the way of a good story (that’s an Excel joke…).

The MVPs were given carte blanche to write about what they thought was cool in Excel and what turned them on and tuned them in every morning. Topics ranged from charts, Data Tables, dynamic arrays, named ranges, PivotTables, Power Query, VBA – to name but a few. Mr. Excel, Bill Jelen, deserves special mention for volunteering to publish it.

Yours Truly drew the short straw to be overall editor (MVP pro tip: DON’T volunteer for this job!), but we had a blast and put the whole thing to bed in just over a month. The book gets a full release shortly, but is on Amazon Kindle in the meantime. Physical copies are available from the Mr. Excel website presently.

If you haven’t undertaken one of these exercises, I thoroughly recommend it. The main things you might learn may include:

• the texting AutoCorrupt generation has long sins forgot the rule of grandma: I could not believe how frequently it was those that spoke English as a first language that wrote the worst prose. You have to a have a hide of leather and the charm of the Devil to explain to brilliant thought leaders that their chapter neither makes sense nor is written in English. It can be quite the challenge to know what to let slip and what you must rewrite. It is quite the skill to know which battles to fight and even now, I am unsure whether I have developed this attribute sufficiently!
• coordinating working with other people takes a lot of work: I am [usually] quite good meeting deadlines but you have to the patience of George Michael as many of your peers will delight in listening to the “whoosh!” as the agreed time goes sailing by. Little white lies about when you need things by can make all the difference. It’s simple tricks like this that reduce the stress of coordination
• getting what’s in your head down onto the printed page is not as simple as you might think: the people in this book are all thought leaders. Some are captivating in person, some are charismatic on paper. It is unusual to find someone who can excel at both – as well as Excel! You need to read what people write and think: will this resonate with your typical Excel reader and not be afraid to push back when you don’t think it will
• appreciate your way is not the only way to do something: if you cannot be flexible in a team, then you’re not a team player. The problem with experts is everyone thinks they are right. It’s difficult to convince them that I am the only one that’s prefect (this is a joke!)
• your (MVP) colleagues are vibrant, imaginative, supportive and very friendly: when collaborating, forget ego and be prepared to be both contributor and student. You will get more out of the task and hopefully, make some new lifelong friends
• we are all getting older: I note I wasn’t the only one who submitted a photo from the 19th century for the book cover
• it’s fun!

Do it if the opportunity presents itself. You are unlikely to become the next JK Rowling, but it’s good to “Potter” about in writing (adds credibility) and it encourages greater interaction and camaraderie throughout the MVP / your network. 

I’m already starting my next project which is how to write a book about writing a book about writing a book.